Etiquette Tip of the Week: One More Time With… By Callista Gould, Author and Certified Etiquette Instructor

I’m no bully, but on the road a few weeks ago, I was pushing university students around a little.

In a room full of students and employers, I was putting a microphone in the faces of a few of them at random and asking them, “Tell me about a skill you are really good at. What is one of your strengths?”

“Um… I think I am good at writing and communications,” said one student shyly.

I pushed a little further. “This time, drop the, ‘I think’ and say it again with confidence. Put a little oomph behind it.”

The student accepted the challenge and put a little oomph into it. She was magnificent – sounded like a new person.

There’s something to be said for oomph.

When we are confident, we enunciate, our voice projects and we speak with conviction. If we are unsure of ourselves, we mumble, we drop our voice and we speak with hesitation.

It helps to lose self-defeating phrases like, “I think… I guess… Maybe we should…” If you mean it, say it like you mean it.

If you are not confident, how do you expect anyone else to have confidence in you?

In meetings, present your ideas with conviction.
In interviews, talk about your qualifications with confidence.
When selling a product or service, speak with enthusiasm.

Don’t say what you think. Say what you know. And say it with a little more oomph.